Question

. Suggest why diarrhea may cause a fluid deficit more rapidly than coughing and sneezing with a cold.

Describe how excessive fluid is lost from the body during strenuous exercise on a very hot day.

Answer 1

Diarrhoea is a condition in which faeces are discharged from the bowels frequently and in a liquid form.

there are two principal mechanisms like secretion and osmotic imbalance behind watery diarrhoea.it may occur due to any one or both mechanism.

Secretory diarrhoea is caused by the abnormal secretion of electrolytes into the intestine. This occurs when the absorption of sodium by the villi is impaired while the secretion of chloride is increased. thus it increases absorption of water which leads to the loss of water and salts from the body results in watery stools later causes dehydration.

during osmotic diarrhoea excessive amount of solutes are retained in the intestinal lumen, water will be absorbed into the intestine and results in diarrhoea. it may occur due to poorly absorbed substrates like mannitol some antacids and so on or the inability to absorb certain carbohydrates like lactose. it mostly subsides after ceasing the consumption of poorly absorbed solute.

in case of cold, runny nose is a common symptom it results when excessive fluid causes blood vessels and mucous membrane within the nose to swell. Also, sneezing is due to the release of inflammatory mediators results in the dilatation and leakage of blood vessels and mucous membrane secretes fluid.

it is clear that in diarrhoea fluid loss is more rapid than fluid loss during cold symptoms because in diarrhoea the frequency of passing stool is more and the amount of loss of fluid and electrolyte is also more.

2.

in the human body, water constitutes about 70 per cent of body weight. the fluid loss during exercise depends on intensity, duration, environmental condition, gender and age. sweating during strenuous exercise and hot temperature results in the fluid deficit to a great extent.